Hemas buys land for Rs. 250 m for next hospital in Ratmalana

•  Third hospital to be opened in Thalawathugoda in May

By Shabiya Ali Ahlam

As part of its expansion to provide world class but affordable healthcare, Hemas Hospitals has invested Rs. 250 million in buying land for a facility at Ratmalana whilst its third at Thalawathugoda is slated for opening in May.

Hemas Hospitals Chairman Murtaza Esufally said yesterday that having already spent over Rs. 4 billion on the three hospitals, an acre of land has been brought for Rs. 250 million near Ratmalana.

While the management is still in the process of reviewing the next project, he said Hemas Hospitals as a group hopes to have about 600 hospital beds by 2020.

However, Esufally stressed that the reaching of the goal would depend on the economic development of the country and the competition prevailing in the healthcare sector.

Hemas Hospitals already operates in Wattala and Galle.

The latest facility, located close to the Thalawathugoda junction, is built with an investment of Rs. 1.4 billion.

The multi-specialty patient care building, which is 62,000 sqft, will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and feature modern operating theatres, delivery rooms with neonatal care, an intensive care unit, 24 hour emergency care unit, and high-tech 24 hour laboratory with the latest sophisticated MRI and CT scanners. Equipments for endoscopy, colonoscopy, and laparoscopic surgeries are also available in the new facility.

With two of its hospitals already in function in Galle and Wattala, Esufally said Thalawathugoda was selected as the next region to explore as a market research conducted by the company showed the need for a well-equipped hospital in the area.

With the aim of increasing access to health care services in Sri Lanka, “we want to cater to the convenience of the people,” he said. He added that those residing in and around Thalawathugoda need not take the trouble of travelling to Colombo to get world-class medical treatments and services once the hospital commences operations.

With a vision of becoming the leader in the healthcare sector, the hospital has its very own training centre for nurses.